Disclaimer: Now that my brain is more or less back where it belongs, having had escaped the box, I can begin to think outside the box! Touhou belongs to Zun.

A/N: And now, with Daiyousei staying over, I have taken care of her time MIA... Now, how about we see what our cute pair of nocturnal youkai are up to, shall we? On with the show!

Author: ...Did I have a stroke while writing that A/N section?

Yuuka: Well, there are less likely things that it could be.

Author: Such as?

Yuuka: Why, you could be in a coma and have been dreaming this all, causing inconsistencies in older chapters that weren't actually there~

Author: ...

Yukari: Or she was sleepy.

Yuuka: Ahh, the expert has spoken~

Early night, Bamboo forest of the lost:

"Tell me again, why is it that you needed my help...?" Asked Rumia, who was bored out of her mind.

"Because the pink terror might come, and she's horrible... Plus, I'm paying you in eel, so it's not like you gain nothing." I stated, matter-of-factly. It starts with the stench of cherry blossom, followed by giggling. After that, If I hasn't already run, I found a disconcerting blank in my memory.

"And what's so bad if another customer were to come? Business is business, right?" Replied Rumia with a raised brow, utterly ignorant to just what I been put through, time and time again. And again. And again. And again.

"Look, she steals food, and eats me as payment. That's all that needs be said." I answered, with a tone of finality. Rumia's eyes widened at such a bold pink creature.

"Sh-she... eats you?" Asked the dark youkai, a blush creeping across her cheeks.

"Yep, just devours me without letting up. I used to beg her to stop, but I've started to notice that it just makes her even more ferocious! She has an insatiable appetite, which I simply can't keep up with!" I complained, a scowl on my face. I hated how sore it left me, and It felt good to have someone to talk to about it with for once. It also passes time until a customer comes.

"Wow, that sounds... rather mean, actually! You mean, she just moves on to continue sating her desires if you can't satisfy her cravings, no matter how hard you try?" Asked Rumia, with a look of disgust on her face.

"Yes... I feel so sore for days after each time she's had her way with my tender meat, it's truly horrible..." I shouted, tears welling up in my eyes at the scant few memories, no matter how clouded.

"Don't worry, Mystia! I'll set her strait if she comes by! I can't stand to see you so shook up... I feel helpless, like I can't help ease your suffering at all. If I can set her strait, maybe satisfy her some with a few tricks I know, maybe you two could get along better again!" Claimed the little youkai, with an out of place zeal coating her words.

While the discussion of greatly misunderstood intentions and actions was going on, a rather masculine girl with long, silky white hair had arrived at the stall. Her hair was covered in charms with an unknown purpose, fluttering gently in the cool night air of late fall. A pair of baggy pants covered in the same charms as her hair, held up with suspenders, over top of a white dress shirt. One of the few wearers of pants in all of Gensoukyou had just pushed aside the hanging cloth sections that surrounded the small area of seats that were on the lamprey stand.

I looked to the customer, a smile spreading across my lips. "Welcome, Ms. Fujiwara! Will you be having the usual?"

"Nah, just sake today. And we've been over this, already; just Mokou." Stated the immortal in a rather abrasive way. She wasn't really one for talking, so she came off as a bit rude to most everyone. She was actually quite pleasant once you get to know her, though. I had learned long ago, when I noticed again and again the immortal lead people to safety. Never once had the immortal tried to skip on a bill, or simply strong arm me. Mokou not only had the my respect, she could actually get things other than 'anger' from the permanent scowl set upon Mokou's cute face. For example, Mokou looked rather sad, tonight. Perhaps a bit lonely, even.

"Alright, Mokou. Coming right up. How goes your endless killing? You winning?" Asked the bird, who was simply trying to fill the silence of the night. Usually any time she brought up such a subject, Mokou would instantly cheer up, before saying she was winning. But tonight was different. The scowl she normally wore slowly eroded, a single tear trailing its way down her cheek.

"M-mokou? Are you... alright?" Asked the now worried Mystia, never once had she seen the strong looking girl like this.

"I'm... fine." Stated Mokou, a wistful look upon her face. "It's just... I've never realy thought about what I have been doing with my life all this time. The bitch and I kill each other night after night, without stop. It's become more like a ritual than an actual act of hate." Sighed the immortal. She had for the first time in her long life doubted this course of action. After thinking about it, she couldn't even say she remembered how she felt so very long ago. Her reasoning was far from perfect. To kill a woman simply for rejecting a father she hardly even remembered. It seemed pointless, really.

"You could always... just try to talk to her." Suggested Rumia from the side, getting a nod of agreement from myself. Mokou didn't seem nearly as keen, judging by her face.

"I can't simply... stop. I'm sure she hates me for all I've done to her in the past." There was a certain weariness in it all in her eyes.

"That's not true, Mokou! Every time I've seen you fight, I see no anger on her face. She looks like she honestly enjoys the interaction, like a sick game! Either she's a masochistic sadist, or she enjoys having at least one stable activity in her life, even if it's a bit gruesome." I replied. I was sure that the latter was the case, though. It just had to be!

"...Maybe you're right... 'Nother sake. Biggest cup you have." Requested the phoenix before them, having had just finished her prior glass.

"Coming right up, Mokou!" I replied with a chirp, grabbing up my best bottle of sake and filled what looked like a small jar with it. Why do I have such a large cup? Oni.

"I'll think about it." Simply stated the immortal, before she downed the entire contents of her minuscule vase.

"Wishh meh luh... I'll nee' ih..." Slured the immortal, before slapping down twice the money she should have. With that done, the girl drunkenly flew off towards the most lost section of the bamboo forest: Eientei. Several shoots of bamboo picked fights with her along the way, by way of her lack of a strait flight path.

"Ahh... G-good luck, Mokou!" I shouted, an unsure tone to my voice. Maybe I gave her a bit too much...

As the hours ticked by, the black speckled sky slowly stained with color, not one single other customer coming by. Making good on my deal, I cooked up a couple lamprey for the the of us as a thank-you for a job well done. We made small talk as we ate at two vastly different rates; where I nibbled, Rumia ripped and swallowed. It seems the Pink Horror never showed up tonight. Thank goodness; I was hoping that Rumia might ward her off. When all was said and done, Rumia went home, which I knew to be any shelter she could find, while I went home to the cave not terribly far from the lake.

"Chin~! Chiiiiiin~!" Sang the bird, with more enthusiasm than usual. She was happy that she might have set Mokou on the right path.